Creating a Better Way: Inside Quad’s 2026 Corporate Responsibility Report

Operating responsibly at Quad comes down to concrete choices: how the company uses energy and materials, invests in employee safety and development, supports communities and helps clients reduce waste.

Quad's 2026 Corporate Responsibility Report, Creating a Better Way, documents those choices and the results they produced last year.

The report arrives in Quad's 55th year, but the thinking behind it is long established. This year's edition includes historical callouts that dipped into Quad's photo archives to help show the company's commitment to operating responsibly since its founding.

In the 1980s, "Production Up, Waste Down" became a familiar principle on Quad's plant floors. Today, that same drive to eliminate waste can be seen across Quad's operations and in its work for clients.

"We believe that those who interact with Quad should come away better for it, and that doing good is good for business," Chairman and CEO Joel Quadracci writes in the report.

Helping clients use materials more efficiently

Packaging rules are changing and consumers are paying closer attention to waste. Yet brands still need products that hold up, stand out and sell.

The report includes several examples of how Quad is helping clients manage those competing demands.

For Milwaukee Tool, Quad redesigned accessory packaging to replace traditional plastic clamshells with recyclable paperboard made with 60% recycled content. The new design eliminated plastic from packaging for select product lines and reduced package size by approximately 40%. It maintained the durability and premium retail presentation the brand requires, and Milwaukee Tool's sales remained strong after the transition.

Quad worked with smart-home fragrance company Pura to develop a semi-permanent retail display that can be refreshed across merchandising cycles. Pura can update select components to change the display's appearance while keeping its primary structure in place. That extends the display's useful life and reduces the material and production required for each new cycle.

Quad's Accelerated Marketing Insights team worked with Seaman Paper to study how consumers respond to Vela™, a translucent paper alternative to plastic e-commerce bags. Participants wore eye-tracking glasses while unboxing products. The research found that the paper packaging attracted more attention and was viewed as more environmentally responsible. Participants were also more likely to recycle it when clear disposal instructions appeared on the package. The findings were detailed in a peer-reviewed study.

In direct mail, Quad's Household Fusion™ solution combines multiple catalogs or publications going to the same household into one package. A third-party analysis found that the approach saved more than 3.3 million square feet of low-density polyethylene over a 36-week study.

"Our clients are being asked to use less material and follow new packaging rules while still performing on the shelf and in the mailbox," said K.P. O'Reilly, Quad's Director of Sustainability Reporting. "These projects show how our teams are helping them do that."

Progress inside Quad

The report also documents results across Quad's U.S. operations during 2025:

• All of Quad's sourced roll and sheet paper came from FSC-, SFI- or PEFC-certified sources, up eight percentage points from 2024.
• Combined Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions decreased approximately 10%, while energy consumption decreased approximately 11%.
• Quad recycled 98% of its industrial wastepaper and other solid waste.
• The company's DART rate - which tracks injuries resulting in days away, restricted duty or job transfer - improved 20%. Its Total Recordable Incident Rate also fell from 2.87 to 2.39, showing progress across two key measures of employee safety.

The full report includes additional information about employee safety and development, responsible sourcing, community partnerships, ethics and corporate governance.